Ortiz runs slack (second position) and the little Puerto Rican is the picture of fury incarnate under fire. Perhaps it has something to do with his growing up in the east LA area. It has taken Krandle a while to bring that aspect of him under control but he has been able to tame that to an extent. Krandle walks third in line and likes to carry his own radio.
Blanchard, the designated medic is a skinny, quiet, unassuming kid from south Chicago. That quietness is belied by an internal fortitude. He will, without hesitation, venture into the thickest of combat to help a fellow team mate. Blanchard is also the one mostly on the end of Speer’s barbs to which he will look up and merely shrug. Speer will sometimes go at great lengths to invoke a reaction from Blanchard but has been unsuccessful to date. Of course, their tightness makes these attempts good-natured without causing a fracture within the group.
His XO, Franklin, walks fifth in line and carries the spare radio. The black petty officer from Atlanta is one sharp tack and will make a fine team leader someday. Well, would have. His actions and speech seem slow and he is often thought of that way. That is until he spins circles around those who think this with his logic and thinking.
Bringing up the rear is Miller. A full-blooded Sioux who grew up in South Dakota. He rarely speaks and even then, his replies are only a few words. Krandle is sure there are weeks when Miller’s word count never exceeds double digits. But he is a master at covering their back trail. There were times when they had to backtrack and were unable to do so via any signs of their passage. He is that good.
Together, they make one hell of a fine team. They are fortunate to have been able to work together and be a team for some time. They have fused into a single organism, each knowing the others thoughts and actions; knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. If anyone can make it through what they are facing, it’s them, and Krandle feels fortunate to be a part of them.
Downing the last of the sludge the bubbleheads call coffee, Krandle says, “Okay ladies, let’s see if we can go topside and take a look.”
Feeling tired and drained from the busy morning, there’s nothing I want more than to drop down and take a nap. However, I pull the command group together in order catch everyone up on today’s events. Those who went with on our excursion slump wearily into their chairs. There is a clatter of noise as Sam’s group arrives inside and arrangements are made for them. With the new arrivals, it becomes increasingly cramped. Bannerman and Frank arrive and both sit with heavy sighs. I proceed to give an overview of the morning and ask Bannerman to include weapons and ammo in the supplies being readied to deliver to Captain Leonard and his crew.
“We can do that. What would you like sent?” Bannerman asks.
“Radio Leonard and see what he needs. Talk with Krandle and the SEAL Team and see what they’d like,” I answer.
“I’ll see to it. Now, with the new arrivals…” Bannerman starts.
“Let me guess. We’re going to talk quarters,” I say, interrupting.
“Well, it’s way past time. There’s no way we’re going to be able to house everyone in here for the long run,” he replies.
“Okay, I agree. We need to develop a secure, permanent place for us all. I think the base housing is still out of the equation with the night runner adaptations so we need to build something here. Are we going to be able start on those with all that is going on?” I ask.
“That depends. We’ll have the inner wall up in about a week or so. We can focus on the guard towers and have them up shortly or we can disperse our activities between the towers and quarters. I think it’s important to have the quarters up quick or we’re going to start seeing problems crop up,” Bannerman says.
“I agree. We’re going to want them finished before winter. At least in my opinion,” Drescoll adds.
“It seems it’s pretty important to have towers up fairly soon. If what you say is true about the night runners changing, and the fact that they’re going to have more hours of night during the winter, we’ll want our defenses in place,” Robert adds.
“How long until the wall is finished?” Lynn asks.
“About a week or so depending on the weather,” Bannerman answers.
“And how long to get the towers in place if we focus on them?” Lynn further asks.
“That may take another week or two. We’ll have to let the concrete in the upended storage containers set before we can start on the upper levels,” Bannerman replies.
“And the quarters?” Lynn asks.
“Now that will probably take a while. It depends on the design we come up with. I’m thinking we could build them like apartments. Some can support families and others individuals, couples, or roommates,” Bannerman responds.
“So, let’s talk about the design then,” I say.
We spend the next hour discussing a secure design. We come up with building apartment style complexes on top of concrete filled storage containers to have them off the ground. The buildings will have retractable stairs and ramps for entrance. A hoist and pulley system will be incorporated with a garage-like facility for bringing supplies and heavy objects into each building. Retractable ramps will run between the buildings in case we need to pull back into another building with ramps eventually running to the Cabelas roof. This will be our final redoubt in case the apartments become overrun. Overhangs will surround the bottom of the quarters so the night runners can’t scale them from underneath. Steel shutters with firing ports are to be hinged on each of the windows and doors.
“That’s going to take some time to put up,” Bannerman says after we complete the design phase.
“Like, how long?” I ask.
“I couldn’t even hazard a guess. A lot of our projects are nearing completion so we should be able to put a lot of hands to work on it, but as far as how long it will take to complete enough buildings to house everyone, I have no idea,” Bannerman replies.
“If you want my opinion, I think the towers have to do with the safety of the group and the quarters are, while not really a nicety, they don’t match up with providing for our security,” Greg says.
“I couldn’t agree more,” I say. “Anyone else have different ideas?”
The opinions are mixed among us as we ponder different ramifications of each. We eventually arrive at completing the towers and have some people assigned to begin filling the containers with concrete and laying them in place. I also mention Roger, the pilot who was with Sam and his group, and my thoughts of rigging up loudspeakers to a light engine aircraft to help out with the search for additional survivors in the area. Frank comments that he’ll talk with him and incorporate him into the search.
“You know, I have to say that standing at the narrows today gave me an idea about putting a moat around the compound,” Frank adds as the conversation subsides.
“A moat? Really? I’m not sure having stagnant water like that is a good idea. That will breed all sorts of bacteria,” Lynn says.
“True, we don’t have to fill it, but if we dig a ditch, say twenty feet wide and twenty feet deep, it could trap any night runners who try to get close to the walls. We could put a drawbridge at the front entrance and that would seal us away,” Frank replies.
“Wouldn’t that fill up with water during the winter months?” Drescoll asks.
“We could line it with concrete and put sump pumps to drain it,” Robert adds.
“Okay, but I don’t think that’s a very viable option. I mean, building a ditch like that all of the way around the compound isn’t a very plausible solution. That’s four miles of ditch you’re talking about,” Greg comments.